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Anthony Francis Caterine
Anthony Francis Caterine (born April 5, 1936) also known as "Paul Caterine" and "Tony Caterine", is a former reputed soldier of the Dallas crime family and notorious Dallas nightclub owner during the 1960s through 1980s. Biography According to Dallas Police Department reports, Caterine was born in 1936 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and controlled most of the major nightclubs in Dallas, most notably the Loser's Club and Castaway Bar. According to the same Dallas Police report Caterine was an associate of Jack Ruby. Described as a man bursting with confidence and bravado, he owned a successful management company that handled many of the city's top entertainers, amongst them singer Sami Jo Cole, with whom he also had a long term relationship and had a son together. His nightclubs at the time were the most successful in the history of Dallas. The Losers Club, in particular, booked some of the greatest entertainers in the business, including The Temptations, Fats Domino, Gladys Knight, Little Richard and many others. Caterine used his club ventures to launder money and mask his involvement in a vast smuggling ring operating between Mexico, Texas and Hawaii. Caterine was allegedly made a member of the Dallas family in the 1960s and remained active until the 1980s. Shift of Power Caterine for many years was overshadowed in the Dallas crime family by the suffocating presence and influence of Joseph Ianni and Joseph Campisi. "Tough Tony" Caterine seemed for a time in the early 1970s as though he would likely claim the underworld crown in Dallas, especially after the death of Joseph Ianni in 1973. In a 1977 article of Dmagazine entitled 'Who's Behind the Mafia in Dallas', Caterine was described as having established associations with members of the New Orleans crime family; that had been traced through phone calls from his business to several Marcello-family related businesses' in New Orleans and trips he'd made to Louisiana. A few Marcello crime family members also attended his son's wedding in 1974. However, Joseph Campisi would come out on top as the new boss of the small Dallas mafia family. Rumors of Caterine's dope dealings first surfaced with an arrest on February 9, 1963 when police raided his apartment and charged him with Theft, Violation of Texas narcotics laws and possession of gambling paraphernalia. The rumors grew even more after authorities found the body Caterine associate Russell "Rusty" Griffith, Jr., in Louisiana. Griffith purchased the Loser's Club but was later forced to give up control of the club due to financial difficulties. In 1976, Caterine was sentenced to two years in prison and a $15,000 fine. At the time of Griffith's murder, Caterine was locked away serving a 27 month term having plead guilty to income tax evasion and a credit card scheme in which he used stolen credit cards to buy thousands of dollars worth of airline tickets. Caterine's notoriety subsided after his release from prison but he remained a silent force in the local underworld. He currently resides in Las Vegas. . Category:Dallas crime family Category:Soldiers Category:Texas Mafia